The Confederation of African Football (CAF) revealed on Wednesday that the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, with Morocco designated as the host for the 2025 edition.
Morocco previously hosted the AFCON in 1988 and was initially selected to host in 2015. However, they requested a postponement due to the Ebola virus, and subsequently, CAF decided to revoke the hosting rights from the North African nation.
While Morocco was considered the strong favorite to host the 2025 edition of the premier African sports event, the unexpected last-minute withdrawal of Algeria from the 2027 hosting race on Tuesday has made the decision wide open.
“This withdrawal can be explained by a new approach from the FAF related to its strategy for developing football in Algeria,” said the national federation.
Subsequently, the Kenya-Uganda-Tanzania joint bid received approval from the CAF executive committee, marking the return of the biennial tournament to East Africa for the first time since Ethiopia hosted the 1976 edition.
Morocco possesses a multitude of world-class stadiums and has effectively hosted numerous African and global tournaments in the past.
However, it’s worth noting that Kenya and Tanzania each have only one international-standard venue, and Uganda has none. This limitation led to their national teams having to play their 2023 Cup of Nations qualifiers at neutral venues.
The decision to bring the tournament to East Africa aligns with a statement made earlier this year by CAF President Patrice Motsepe, expressing a desire to avoid consecutive tournaments being held in the same region.
“We cannot assign the organisation of the CAN successively to the same region,” he said at a press conference before the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Algeria last January.
Nevertheless, several months later, CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba indicated that regional rotation may not always be a feasible approach.
“Today, only five or six countries out of the 54 CAF members are able to apply to host the African Cup. Consequently, it will not be possible to make this alternation,” he said.
Ivory Coast is set to host the 2023 Cup of Nations, with the tournament rescheduled to take place in January and February 2024 due to the rainy season in West Africa.
“The timing is not ideal,” Motsepe remarked, alluding to the tournament’s placement in the midst of the European club season.
“But we could not risk the tournament being disrupted by inclement weather,” added the South African billionaire, who was appointed CAF president in 2021.